St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-17
MONTANA CHARLEY.
Lively Reoollections of the Early Days in
Miles City When the Ready Re-
volver Ruled.
A Bitter Fight With the Stage Rob
bers. Gamblers. stock Thieves
And the Result.
Seven Men Launched From the Rail.
road Bridge Into Eternity
Flight of the Band.

mas been at the Palace hotel for the past
few days. says the San Francisco Exam
liner. is one of the Miles family who founded
the town in 1881. He has mercantile and
stock interests whereabouts, and still makes
Miles City his home.
From its early days up to the present
time the town has never lacked for incident
to make it the liveliest of Western towns
and keep up the early reputation it gained
OF being the wckedest town in the
world, The rich stockmen of Texas,
Kansas. Iowa and Nebraska, who signi-
fed their intention of locating i'll Montana,
and especially in Custer county, OF which
Miles City is the county seat, We're pro-
ceeded by the most noted desperadOes this
country afforded
Miles City, then place of not more than
half dozen houses on the banks of tha
Tongue and Yellowstone rivers. and tw1
miles from Fort Ke0gh, commanded by
Gen. Miles, was the only place for these
stage robbers gamblers and stock thieves
TO stay, and they at once took possession
of the burg. Those were noted times in
the history of Montana. The stages be-
tween the ends of the Northern Pacific line
were through a very lonesome and danger
Gus portion of the country, ami as the
eastern division of the line extended to
Glendlve. Mont, eighty miles east of Miles
City, the characters who were located at
the latter place harvested upon the sweets
OF the express packages carried by the stage
lines from the eastern to the western divis-
ion of the Northern Pacific And the stages
carried considerable money especially
about the middle of the month"; when the
railway company sent out money to pay
the Worknen on the western END.
MONTANA CHARLEY.
The recognized leader of the band Of
stage robbers was Montana Charley, and
many of his exploits are as celebrated as
that of Jessie James. AS time rolled on
and Eastern people fiocked into the terri
tory, and the town of Miles City grew.
Charley and his gang wee kept at close
quarters. III time the better class of in
habitants equalled the opposite and a cloud
began to form. The desperadoes planned
at attack upon the town, threat
ening to run those who die
not conform to their views OF
life, manner of living and principles, on to
the ranges and confiscate their property.
The better-minded people dared them. and
there needs be fight to settle which fac
ton was to hold supremacy.
About II O'Clock one summers night in
1883 man who hung about the variety
theater there made an indecent assault upon
a respectable young lady. Judge Brown.
large and powerful man, heard her
screams, and. wrenching a spoke from
the wheel of wagon, dealt the vii
lain blow that laid him out unconscious,
with large cash in his head The Conley
brothers, deputy sheriffs, took the man
down to the county Jail, and the matter
was hushed up as much as possible. the
rescue of the man might be attempted.
The county clerk, young man OF spirit.
accompanied by few of his friends, visited
the jail and requested the sheriff to hand
over the prisoner to him, so that
scandal would be avoided. Think.
ing this was all right the sheriff
turned over the man, who was still uncor-
scious. to the county clerk and his friends.
who took him up to the railroad bridge and
threw him therefrom with a rope around
his neck. The variety theater mans head
was found tied to the rope the next morn
ing, the fall having decapltated him. Never
did the town know such excitement before
or since. 1t was the turning point in it's
life.
TICKLISH TIMES.
About 10 O'Clock in the morning a bouse
was set on fire. And when several of the
reputable citizens attempted to eXtinguish
the fire, Montana Charley and his gang
were found there on guard. From this
house the flames spread to saloon, and
from there went marching on. The street
was crowded with men. Half viewed the
increasing RUNS with composure, while
tine other half were anxious to pre-
vent further destruction, but to
make an attempt would be to
risk their lives. Their hands sought their
pistol pockets, and though every man car
red one or two revolvers not one could be-
seen. For II revolver had been shown
the street would have run with blood. The
sheriff and his deputies, like Wellington
sighed for night. Montana Charley hoped
1t would never come. 1t did. though. at its
time and by sunrise seven men had
been launched from the railroad bridge.
which was handler than trees. But the
gang was broken up that night. Montana
Charley was on guard as usual. He had
not slept wink in forty-eight hours. but
the lack of sleep did not trouble him.
About II O'Clock, Deputy Irwin. a yery
small but very wiry man, and as sharp and
shrewd detective as ever trapped a human
being, stepped lightly up to where Charley
was standing, tapped him gently OH the
shoulder and said:
Follow me-
Il
without word, walked with Irwin to the
county jail, where carriage was in wait
ing. No one saw Charley depart, but the
sheriff knew that when his absence was dis
covered search would be made for him. So
Charley was put into the carriage and thew
rode away With him to the bad lands.
FLIGHT OF THE BAND
When morning came and the band fornd
itself without leader, its members seized
horses wherever they could be found and
quickly decamped, leaving the bodies of
their companions suspended from the
bridge and to the mercy of the citizens.
During the previous day and night twenty
one buildings were burned, nineteen of
which were saloons.
Montana Charley repented after he had
been In prison two months, and he was par
doned and released. He afterward
preached i'll small towns in the territory
ana COWBOY camps, converting MANY of the
VaQueros by confronting them with nair
OF loaded revolvers. He was nearly mobbed
one evening at Forsyth, forty miles
from Miles City, for going into a
saloon where a game of poker was in
progress and making each participant prav
as he was called upon.
This was the most remarkable and inter
esting incident i'll the history of Miles CITY,
and, though it is yet one of the word
places on the continent. it is like a goat
Quaker town to what it was in 'S2 and ,S3.
HIGH LOVE HAS NO PLACE.